2007 BMW X3 3.0si

Land Rover and Acura recently launched entries into this growing segment, so how is the revised X3 looking these days?

Three years ago, the BMW X3 was a novelty: a slick-handling luxury compact SUV. We liked it but didn't love it. Now newcomers, such as the Land Rover LR2, the Acura RDX, and the upcoming VW Tiguan, come surprisingly close to matching what we remember enjoying most about the baby Bimmer—gifted handling, abundant luxury, premium-brand cachet—and do so at prices that undercut the X3's. Hmm. Time to take a fresh look at the Bimmer.

And a fresh thing we found. Technically, a freshened thing. For 2007, BMW gave its cute ute a significant update—inside, outside, and under the hood. But what remained to be seen was how far these changes would go toward ingratiating the X3 to us to the extent that we could actually love the thing, not merely accept it. Moreover, would they help justify the X3's ever-climbing price?

Mild Exterior Freshening

Well, it looks better. Or at least somewhat better. Now that all other BMWs—including the larger, all-new X5—have taken on "flame surfacing" overtures, the X3's wedgy, angular flanks look even more dated than they did when the X3 was introduced for the 2004 model year. But there have been improvements. The new bumpers are no longer the masses of black plastic that made early X3s look about as high-brow as a base Kia Sportage. In back, the cluttered taillights have been cleaned up nicely. Up front, the grille slats are now a sporty silver hue, and with the xenon headlamp option come BMW's now-ubiquitous "corona ring" spectacles. That's better than nothing, we guess.

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